Bloodgood 1986
Metal Missionaries!
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Bloodgood 1986 |
Metal Missionaries! |
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1. "Accept The
Lamb" (3:48) |
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 Autographed Bloodgood LP. |
With the exception of the short, corny accapella opening, Bloodgood's self titled album is a great metal disc. I was a new Christian when this disc came out and was stoked to find a real metal band with Christian based lyrics at the time. With the exception of Saint and Stryper there wasn't a whole lot of quality Christian metal in the early and mid-80's. However, with or without the lyrics, Bloodgood are still a powerful metal band and good song writers. Les Carlsen's raspy, high ptiched howl is incredible and one of the defining factors of the band. The majority of this disc is good mid-paced 80's heavy metal (Some would define it as power metal, but at the time, it was just heavy metal.) However, Bloodgood offers a bit of diversity with tracks like "Black Snake", which is a fast thrash song, and "What's Following The Grave", a ballad with a powerful message. Overall, this album was one of the earliest and most influencial discs of the early Christian metal movement. The original Frontline CD is out of print and hard to find. I finally scored a copy on eBay for about $13 using the Buy-It-Now option. Usually it sells for much more. I also still own my original vinyl version of this disc.
In 1999 KMG re-issued Bloodgood and "Detonation" on a single disc collection. Unlike other KMG re-issues, this one has all the songs from both albums but only has a single page insert with very poor liner notes and no photos. In other words, it's cheap! The original cd release is much better.
Mortification covered "Black Snake" on their "Live Planetarium" disc.
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1. "Battle
of the Flesh" (2:45) |
 David Zaffiro & Michael Bloodgood 1987 |
"Detonation" is a REAL metal album by a band dedicated to bringing Christianity to a scene that is dominated by darkness. "Battle of the Flesh" is the closest Bloodgood has ever come to speed metal. "Alone in Suicide" is a ballad penned by guitarist David Zaffiro. But the best songs on this disc are the theatrical "Crucify/The Messiah." These two tracks would be major concert favorites right up to the time that Bloodgood split. "Detonation" is a great metal album by a great metal band. The original is very hard to find but the music is still available on the KMG double disc re-issue.
Bloodgood - Rock In a Hard Place (Intense) 1988
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"Shakin' It" (2:52) 2. "Never Be the Same" (3:59) 3. "Presense" (3:29) 4. "What Have I Done?" (3:41) 5. "Heaven on Earth" (3:43) 6. "Do or Die" (2:21) 7. "She's Gone" (4:29) 8. "World (Keeps Movin' Around)" (4:09) 9. "Seven" (4:47) |
 Mark Welling, David Zaffiro, Les Carlsen, Michael Bloodgood |
This disc was a lot more melodic than Bloodgood's first two albums, signaling a change in direction, or so I thought. Still there are some great songs on here. "She's Gone" is a mesmerizing guitar ballad with a repeating piano part and "Shakin' It" is a heavy boogie rocker. One strange thing about this disc is that the bass is completely missing from the mix. I remember reading some years back that Michael Bloodgood's basslines were erased from most of the tapes shortly before their release date/deadline. How that heck could that happen? Funny thing is, it doesn't effect the songs that much, but the mix is a bit on the trebly side. The exception would be "Seven" where the bass is present and becomes critical to the song.
Well, it seems I was wrong about the bass lines. This is what Michael Bloodgood had to say:
Hi,
I wanted to let you know about my bass lines on the Rock in a Hard Place release. The bass guitar is there, if you listen really hard! It turns out the studio we recorded in (Bear Creek) had a ton of false low-end that our producer wasn't aware of when he was mixing, which is why there is such a lack of low end; it's not just the bass that seems missing, but the entire low spectrum. And no one seemed to catch it when it was mastered, either. If you own a copy of RHP on vinyl, you can really hear the bass guitar better than on CD or cassette. Needless to say, when RHP came out I was very disappointed with the mastered product. Anyway, I came across your website tonight and read the review about the missing bass lines and I wanted to set the record straight (no pun intended).
Keep rockin',
Michael Bloodgood
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1. "Out of
the Darkness" (3:43) |
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"Out of the Darkness" is much heavier than "Rock in A Hard Place" but still retains much of the melodic nature; sort of like a mix of the first three albums. Still, this album would be tame compared to much of the metal coming out in 1989. Long time guitarist David Zaffiro is gone and replaced by guitar shredder Paul Jackson. "Out of the Darkness" contains three of my favorite Bloodgood songs: the title track, "Top of the Mountain," and "Changing Me," the later two being incredibly emotional and personal ballads. Bought this disc as a new release.
Bloodgood - Alive in America Vol. 1 (Intense) 1990
1. "Out of the Darkness"
(3:54)
2. "Do Or Die" (2:23)
3. "It's Alright" (4:01)
4. "Hey You!" (4:15)
5. "Alone in Suicide" (4:06)
6. "She's Gone" (4:12)
7. "Heaven on Earth" (3:43)
8. "Shakin' It" (2:49)
9. "Soldier of Peace" (3:35)
10. "America" (3:50)
11. "Never Be The Same" (3:45)
12. "Medley: Demon on the Run/Killing the Beast/Battle of the Flesh/Black
Snake" (5:50)
When this first came out I had really lost interest in Bloodgood as I was mostly buying thrash and speed metal. A few years later I was getting back into the melodic metal and power metal stuff, so I began to look for the two similtaneously released live discs. Of course they were out of print and have become a major pain to find. I managed to find this one relatively cheap ($5.99) but Volume Two eluded me for years.
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1. "Let My
People Go" (4:22) YEAH!!! At long last, the missing disc in my Bloodgood collection. I searched for years for this final disc and could still kick myself for not buying it when it was readily available. Why I purchased a crappy cassette I do not know. Well, now I have it and the collection is complete. Thanks Olaf, for finding this gem for me. |
 Les Carlsen |
Bloodgood - All Stand Together (Broken) 1991
1. "S.O.S."
(3:52)
2. "All Stand Together" (4:19)
3. "Escape From The Fire" (5:27)
4. "Out Of Love" (2:39)
5. "Say Goodbye" (3:41)
6. "Kingdom Come" (4:12)
7. "Fear No Evil" (3:47)
8. "Help Me" (4:21)
9. "Rounded Are The Rocks" (4:09)
10. "Lies In The Dark" (4:50)
11. "Streetlight Dancer" (3:49)
12. "I Want To Live In Your Heart" (4:31)
Bloodgood - To Germany With Love (SB) 1993
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"Intro/Kingdom Come" (4:43) 2. "Heaven On Earth" (3:57) 3. "Let My People Go" (5:51) 4. "Out for Love" (4:11) 5. "All Stand Together" (5:05) 6. "Hey You!" (4:30) 7. "Anguish and Pain" (5:52) 8. "Escape from the Fire" (6:57) 9. "I Want to Live in Your Heart" (4:08) 10. "Self Destruction/Drum Solo" (6:39) 11. "Crucify" (4:06) 12. "Intro/Messiah" (9:57) 13. "Seven" (5:44) |
 From right to left: me, Les Carlsen, and a friend. |
This live disc was originally only released in Germany. Only 990 hand numbered copies were released, thus it became a hot seller on eBay fetching a hefty price. (Sometimes selling for over $200.00! Ouch!) The sound quality is good for a live recording. Recorded March 25, 26, & 28 at Freudenstadt, Erlangen, Stuttgart Germany. I have one of the original copies-my copy is #351. It was a gift from a friend in Germany. Also have a sealed copy of the new release, see below.
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1. "Intro/Kingdom
Come" (4:43) |
 Michael Bloodgood |
As stated above, this disc was originally only released in Germany in a limited number of 990 hand numbered copies. In the year 2000. however, M8 Distribution re-issued 2,000 more copies in the U.S., with different cover art. The original is still very hard to find and sells for more on auction sites, but the re-issue has brought the price tag down quite a bit.
Bloodgood - Rock Theater (independent) 2003
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DISC ONE DISC TWO |
 Autographed set list from Cornerstone California '07 |
Simply outstanding! Bloodgood at their finest with a host of actors, dancers, etc., acting out scenes from the Bible and Bloodgood songs. This video was originally released on two VHS tapes, "Alive in America: Live Volume One" (1990) and "Shakin' the World: Live Volume Two" (1990).
Related Collections:
David Zaffiro
Bloodgood (Frontline) 1986
Bloodgood - Detonation (Frontline) 1987
Bloodgood - Out of the Darkness (Intense) 1989
Bloodgood - Live Vol. II/Shakin' The World (Intense) 1990 
Bloodgood - To Germany With Love (Magdelen/M8) 2000 reissue